jdhmnovel Chapter 597 - 584: If I Could, I Would Too!
Chapter 597 - 584: If I Could, I Would Too!
"Dad!"
Seeing Bo Xianmin stand up with his phone, Bo Qiudong, who had been kicked away, frantically scrambled back to his father’s side. He grabbed his thigh and shouted again, all traces of the dignified Young Master Bo having vanished.
"Goddammit! Look at you! What do you look like? A dog! A dead dog! Are you my son? Are you still worthy of being my son?! Get up! The descendants of the Bo family die on their feet! This pathetic display of yours disgraces the spirits of our ancestors!" Bo Xianmin resisted the urge to kick him again. Terror and unease churned within him, and with his emotions on the verge of shattering, he bellowed hysterically. He had completely forgotten how long it had been since he had last cursed; in this moment of emotional collapse, all his composure was gone.
"Bo Xianmin! Have you gone mad? Tell me, have you gone mad?!" Hearing his frenzied cursing, the refined woman rushed over and shrieked.
"Get lost!" He shoved her onto the sofa.
Bo Xianmin shook off Bo Qiudong, clenching his jaw as he dialed the number on his phone. Without another glance at his son or the stunned woman, he strode quickly toward the balcony.
RING... RING... RING... RING... RING... RING...
「Beijing, a certain restricted area.」
A rapid ringing suddenly pierced the silence. Though it was late, several elderly men were gathered here. They hadn’t been summoned; they knew, as of half an hour ago, that this was destined to be a sleepless night.
"Just as we expected. It’s ringing." The old man in the office chair scanned his colleagues and spoke with helpless bitterness.
The other old men exchanged glances, but no one replied. What could they possibly say? At this moment, every face was etched with grave concern.
With no response forthcoming, the old man in the chair shook his head and picked up the receiver. "Xianmin?"
"Elder Wang, is there any way to de-escalate this? I’m willing to pay any price. Whatever conditions he sets, I’ll agree to anything I can do! I just want my family to survive this crisis, young and old, safe and sound! That’s all!" Without wasting a single word, Bo Xianmin went straight to the point.
"I can only say I will do my best," the old man said after a moment of silence, sighing.
"Only do your best? No guarantees?" Bo Xianmin’s hand trembled as he held the phone, his voice quivering.
"Not long ago, countless top-tier Abnormals in Japan were killed, several fighter jets exploded and crashed, and Mount Fuji collapsed and was leveled! Do you understand what I’m saying? So, other than ’doing our best,’ we have no choice! No one wants to see a tragedy, but Qin Fan is an existence beyond our control! Furthermore, we need him to deter the ghouls and fiends lying in wait. And to be blunt, from start to finish, this whole mess is because Bo Qiudong was courting death!" The elder rubbed his temples, his expression weary.
It was true they wielded immense power, but the Martial Arts World was effectively another world, one that operated in the shadows beyond their supervision. This was precisely why the Guardian Institute had been created. Yet now, an individual had emerged who could crush and utterly disregard the Guardian Institute. Given the circumstances, what could he say besides promise to do his best?
Yes, they could probably devise a way to sanction Qin Fan, but the cost would be astronomical. It was a price they were unwilling, and unable, to bear unless there was absolutely no other option.
Following the elder’s words, Bo Xianmin remained silent for a full half-minute before finally letting out a shuddering breath. The old man’s meaning was crystal clear. Since his son had brought this upon himself, the family’s ’get-out-of-jail-free card’ was useless. The promise to ’do my best’ was nothing more than a polite refusal.
The Bo family... was truly finished.
"Can’t I use the Bo family’s special privilege to resolve this?" Though reality had torn away its cruel veil, Bo Xianmin couldn’t help but ask, clinging to a final, desperate hope.
"If I could, I would! Everyone would! But when we’re facing someone before whom even Hua Xiaotian must be utterly respectful, do we have any other choice?"
"So I should just despair?" Bo Xianmin asked with a grim, self-mocking sneer.
"I will do everything in my power to find some leeway," the old man said solemnly.
"Let’s hope so."
With that, Bo Xianmin hung up, disregarding all formalities of status and rank. He collapsed into a chair on the balcony as if his bones had turned to jelly.
Run? But could they really escape a demon before whom even Hua Xiaotian was utterly reverent? Or should they just sit here and wait for Qin Fan to come and kill them?
Bo Xianmin clenched his fists so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, yet he didn’t even feel the blood begin to trickle.
「Jinling Grand Hotel.」
After carrying Jiang Yino across half the city, Qin Fan came to a stop before the entrance of the Jinling Grand Hotel. He wanted to go inside but feared it would distress Jiang Yino when she awoke. All he wanted was to stay by her side, to help her through this ordeal. He hadn’t thought about anything else. His hesitation made him a temporary statue, drawing curious looks from passersby.
"Let’s go inside."
A soft whisper cut through Qin Fan’s daze. Hearing those words, his eyebrows shot up and his heart began to race.
Go inside? Yinuo’s awake? Was that her voice? Am I just hearing things?
"Yinuo?" he asked, his voice trembling and his breath catching in his throat.
There was no verbal response.
Instead, Jiang Yino gently opened her eyes and bit down hard on Qin Fan’s shoulder. Her intention was unmistakable.
With his Prison Suppressing Body’s defenses intentionally suppressed, the force of Jiang Yino’s unrestrained bite still made Qin Fan grimace. It truly hurt.
Five seconds passed, and she was still biting deeply. A strange expression flickered across her face, and her heart pounded wildly. Enduring the chilling pain that shot through his shoulder, Qin Fan didn’t even let out a grunt. He cast aside all other thoughts and strode decisively into the Jinling Grand Hotel.
Supporting Jiang Yino with one arm, he produced an ID and bank card with his free hand as if by magic. "A presidential suite, please," Qin Fan said to the receptionist.
"Oh, uh, okay! Okay!" The receptionist, stunned by the scene, shook herself back to reality. She gave the pair another curious look before taking the cards to process the check-in. Faced with a young man who casually requested the presidential suite, she didn’t dare say a word, not even asking for Jiang Yino’s identification. She hastily completed the registration and passed back the ID, bank card, and room key.
"Thank you." With a slight smile, Qin Fan took the cards. Completely unashamed and composed, he calmly carried Jiang Yino toward the elevators.
Behind him, countless eyes were fixed on his retreating figure.